Colosseum Facts For Kids | Largest Amphitheatre In The World

The most famous site for the tourists in Rome is Colosseum. It is by far the biggest amphitheatre in the world and one of the greatest remains of the Roman Empire. Let’s explore it further in Colosseum facts for kids.

A Quick Guide To Colosseum Facts For Kids

Starting Date of Construction: 70 AD

Ending Date of Construction: 80 AD

Shape: Elliptical

Length: 189 meters

Width: 156 meters

Covered Area: 6 acres

Height of Outer Wall: 48 meters

Number of Stories: 3

Basic Colosseum Facts For Kids

Physical Features

Colosseum is an amphitheatre that is elliptical in shape.

It is located at the center of the Italian city of Rome.

It is made up of stone and concrete.

It was the biggest amphitheatre built by the Romans.

It is the biggest amphitheatre of the world.

Colosseum has the capacity of taking 50,000 to 80,000 viewers at one time.

There are 80 entrances of Colosseum.

There is a number for every entrance as well as every exit.

There are 4 axial entrances of Colosseum. All of them were beautifully adorned.

The Roman Emperor used to enter it from the north side (which was a main entrance). No ordinary citizen can enter it from this side.

There are 2 entrances from the Roman period that still exist until today. These are entrance number XXIII and number LIV. ‘XXIII’ means 23 and ‘LIV’ means 54.

There were different levels of seating arrangements for different classes of people.

The seating level for ordinary Romans was called ‘maenianum secundum’. It consists of two parts.

The lower section of seating level was called ‘The Immum’. It was reserved for well-off people.

The upper section of seating level was called ‘The Summum’. It was reserved for poor people.

The seating arrangement at the top of Colosseum within a gallery was called ‘maenianum secundum in legneis’.

Colosseum consists of a floor made up of wood and is coated with sand. This region is known as arena. The word ‘Arena’ is a Latin word that means ‘sand’.

The length of arena is 83 meters. Its width is 48 meters.

Colosseum consists of a structure called Hypogeum. This word means ‘underground’.

Construction and Destruction

In 70 AD, a Roman emperor named Vespasian started its construction.

The construction was finished in 80 AD by Vespasian’s son (another emperor) named Titus.

Under the rule of Domitian, new adjustments were made to the structure.

It was built to show various public competitions like drama, mock sea battle, fighting between gladiators and the like.

A church was also constructed inside Colosseum in the 6th century.

Domitian was the son of Vespasian. When he became emperor, he built a gallery at the uppermost part of Colosseum and thus allowing more spectators to come.

Once the lightning struck Colosseum in 217. It was so powerful that it resulted in a fire and eventually damaging many parts of this structure. Most of the top structure was cut off as a result of it.

An earthquake occurred in 1349 which caused great damage to its structure.

A mega project to save this wonderful site from weakening was undertaken in 1993 and continued until 2000. The entire cost of this restoration project was $19.3m.

­­­­More Colosseum Facts For Kids

The Latin word for Colosseum is Amphitheatrum Flavium. It is the original name of Colosseum.

It is also known as Flavian Amphitheatre.

When Colosseum was opened, the games that were played at the beginning killed 9,000 animals.

During the 16th century, Pope Sixtus V tried to convert it into a factory of wool but could not succeed because of his death.

Cardinal Altieri also tried to use Colosseum for bullfighting in 1671, but he was unsuccessful because of great protests by the public.

Pope Benedict XIV called this structure a holy place in 1749. It is because Christians were martyred here in olden times.

The death punishment in Italy was eliminated in 1948. Colosseum has since been an icon for getting rid of this punishment.

When death penalty was eliminated in New Mexico (a US State) in 2009, Colosseum was lit up as a symbol against this punishment.

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